Brazilian Air Force destroys aircraft used to smuggle gold from the Yanomami traditional territory

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) destroyed, on land, a small aircraft used to smuggle gold out of the traditional territory of the Yanomami in the Roraima state, near the border with Venezuela.

In a media statement, the FAB noted that this was the first action aimed at combating illegal mining and unregulated air traffic following the closure of the air space in the Amazonian region, which was ordered last Friday by the national government. 

After almost to 20,000 illegal miners left the Yanomami reserve, the executive power decided to close the air space one month earlier than initially scheduled by a joint order issued by the ministries of justice and defence.

The Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the Federal Highway Police (PRF) were also involved in Friday’s operation. Two people were arrested in connection to the illegal runway.

Back in January, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ Da Silva ordered the immediate removal of illegal miners operating on Yanomami land, after learning of the humanitarian crisis of hunger and disease caused by their activities in the area. 

Later in February, an intense police operation destroyed 200 camps and seized 84 boats, two aircraft, 27 tonnes of cassiterite, 11,400 litres of fuel, 172 engines, and other materials, tools, and machinery used by wildcat miners.

According to the NGO Instituto Escolhas, Brazil produced 47.9 tonnes of gold with evidence of illegality in 2021, which is equivalent to 54% of the national production. Almost two-thirds of that gold came from the Amazon. 

The organization also reported that between 2015 and 2020, Brazil traded 229 tonnes of gold with evidence of illegality. This indicates that almost half of the gold produced and exported by the country had an unknown origin.